U.S. Mulls Year-Round Drills with S.Korea

The Chosun Ilbo ^ | 7/15/2010 | The Chosun Ilbo

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The U.S. government is apparently debating how to stage joint exercises with South Korea not only this month but all year round as a response to North Korea's torpedo attack on the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan in March.

A diplomatic source in Washington on Tuesday said the U.S. is thinking a lot about these joint exercises "to deliver a clear message to the North."

Following the planned joint drill this month, the two countries will further upgrade the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, which is staged in August every year, and may also possibly conduct various other kinds of drills.

At the moment, they are through diplomatic channels discussing the option of declaring start of joint drills at the "two plus two" meeting of foreign and defense ministers in Seoul on July 21.

Another source talked about the participation of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington in the upcoming drill as a fait accompli, saying it would be "strange" if the George Washington, which has left a Japanese port, does not take part.

Given its operating radius of hundreds of kilometers, the carrier will highly likely travel to the South Sea or the East Sea for support operations, instead of to the West Sea, an area China and North Korea feel extremely sensitive about.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Ping

[Old Teufel Hunden]

Seems like in the old days with Team Spirit and Big Bear (I think that was the name of the one held at the end of the year), there were exercises held there practically all year round. They don’t do these exercises anymore?